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Inmate Deaths Raise Questions About Temperatures in Oklahoma Prisons (oklahomawatch.org)
submitted 1 year ago by gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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Tonya Wilson Peel, a former correctional case manager at Dick Conner who worked alongside Lanford during her employment at the prison, said he had a sharp sense of humor and loved his job making license plates for the State of Oklahoma. She said Lanford had complained of excessive heat for several weeks leading up to his death but declined to seek help because he didn’t want money to be deducted from his commissary account for a medical visit.

“He had a heart attack that I’m pretty sure was caused due to the heat,” Wilson Peel said. “He was just so hot. He had told me several times that he was taking a towel and dipping it in ice water and putting it around his neck because he felt like he just couldn’t breathe.”

A corrections department employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of violating the agency’s media policy said Lanford and Willis had pre-existing health concerns but lived in a general population unit and maintained jobs. On one particularly hot day, the temperature inside a cell at Dick Conner reached as high as 97 degrees Fahrenheit, the employee said.

Dick Conner is one of several Oklahoma prisons that does not have universal air conditioning. Corrections department policy does not mandate a temperature range in living areas, though it does state prison officials should try to increase airflow during the summer months. The Oklahoma Department of Health requires pretrial facilities to maintain positive airflow if temperatures exceed 85.

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[-] TrismegistusMx@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

If a person's right to freedom is removed, then the moral responsibility for their health and wellness falls upon their captors, regardless of what the law allows.

[-] June@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Private prisons are immoral top to bottom

[-] TrismegistusMx@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Yes, but I was speaking more broadly than private prisons. There are many reasons to restrict a person's freedom, and many ways to do it.

[-] June@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Can’t disagree with you there.

this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
191 points (99.5% liked)

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